After bad loss, time to move on and move up for Union

By MATTHEW De GEORGE

Thursday, August 29, 2013

CHESTER -- They say bad things come in threes. The number on the minds of the Philadelphia Union this week, though, is five.

As in the five goals they allowed to New England last week. Or the five they shipped to this week's opponent, Montreal, when they met back in May. Or the five that the Impact gashed Houston for last week.

The two teams that enter PPL Park Saturday (7:30 p.m., CSN) appear to on trajectories that are polar opposites. But should the Union (10-8-8, 38 points) get a win, they would leave with the same total of 41 points as the Impact.

It's just another week in MLS' Eastern Conference, where seven points separate seven teams. The Union sit fourth in that mess, just two points ahead of New England and Houston in a tie for the fifth and final playoff spot.

The Union were in a position last week to tie Montreal for first place, but a 5-1 drubbing in New England happened instead. Given that result and an accumulation of selection quandaries, Union manager John Hackworth didn't sound like someone whose team was within striking distance of the league lead in his weekly press conference Wednesday.

Instead, he sounded like someone faced with a number of tough choices and the unenviable task of getting his team in the right mindset to leave one of the most lopsided defeats in franchise history squarely in the fast.

"It's tough to move on from that, but we do our video and then our process is that we do move on," Hackworth said. "So I think from a coaching standpoint and from our staff and from our players, what we've all said is that we have to move on, we have to move on."

Further complicating matters is the fact that the Union face a short week thanks to last week's Sunday game. In a different week, Hackworth might have given his team a little time to clear their heads. But with the team only traveling back to the Philadelphia area Monday, they need all the time on the field possible, meaning the players have to cope in a more collective manner.

"We expect to bounce back this week, we've done it all season," defender Sheanon Williams. "We have a group of guys in this locker room that won't turn on each other after a loss. We'll stay together, whatever happens down this last stretch. We'll make sure that anything we do, we do together. It's been good all year and I expect to continue that trend and do well on Saturday."

However they go about picking themselves up off the canvas in a metaphorical sense, the logistics of slowing down Montreal (12-7-5, 41 points) will be daunting. That starts with MLS's leading goal scorer Marco Di Vaio, the Italian recording a brace last week against Houston to push his season total to 15. Hackworth portrayed the Impact midfield as "firing on all cylinders," led by MLS All-Star Patrice Bernier and former Union player Justin Mapp.

Making matters more difficult for the Union are the absences on the back line. Amobi Okugo will miss the next two games thanks to yellow-card accumulation, both over the season and by picking up two Sunday for a red card against the Revs. Ray Gaddis (ankle) was listed as questionable by Hackworth Wednesday and could very well be on the shelf for a third straight game.

For a team very thin in defense, it likely means Di Vaio will attack a back four containing a converted player, either forward Aaron Wheeler into central defense or a midfielder like Matt Kassel or Michael Lahoud at right back.

The easy move may be to move Williams centrally, a role he's played before and is comfortable playing.

"We haven't really talked about it but I'm sure I'll take some reps there this week playing next to Jeff

(Parke)," Williams said. "If that is what needs to happen, we're both comfortable with it. I'm comfortable doing it, I've done it before and it's not something that doesn't come natural.

"Regardless of where you are on the back four, you should be ready to play all the positions."

There are also questions in the midfield with Keon Daniel (ankle) fighting a similar battle for fitness as Gaddis, while Jack McInerney is also a question mark after being benched by Hackworth last week.

It's not all doom and gloom for the Union, though, who haven't lost consecutive league games this season. The Impact are a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde team when they leave the Saputo Stadium, a common problem contributing to the East's congestion.

While they've lost once in 13 home matches with a plus-15 goal differential, the Impact are a mere 3-6-2 away from home, scoring just 13 goals while surrendering 22. Their last result away from home came in a July 3 draw at Toronto; they haven't won on the road since June 1.

When it comes to the playoff picture, Hackworth is taking the long view. But with the distance to season's end becoming shorter, he's aware of the immediacy of this contest.

"They're playing well, so what we need to do is we need to get results in the next eight games," Hackworth said. "And when we look at everything, while this game is a fantastic chance to do that at home, we know that we have to manage it right in the next eight and get the points that we feel are going to be necessary to make the playoffs."